Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about living fuh theyselves" (183). Why I Chose It: I chose this book partly because I had it on my bookshelf, but also because I knew that it was a very famous and well-written book. I had heard of it many times through the years, although I didn't quite know what it was about, or why it was such a good book; I was eager to find the answers. GoodReads ended up being the best resource for this question, as the majority of the reviews were extremely positive, save a few negative thoughts. Still curious about the book, I asked my knowledgeable and experienced sister whether or not it was worthy of reading just for fun, and she confidently recommended it to me. Thus, with all of the motivation to read the novel, I embarked on a journey to see for myself, and it definitely didn't disappoint.
Genre: The book is an African-American story, and a pure classic at that. A very thick slang dialect makes up the distinctive dialogue of the story, and only the narrator speaks in "plain” English. This choice of language brings out the nature of the characters, making the story seem that much more realistic, though the reader may not necessarily understand every word. This book is definitely a young adult or adult fiction novel because the events that occur on in the story are better suited for more mature readers. Little kids would clearly be completely unable to decipher any of the unique speech of the character, and would not have any idea about what is happening—the time period or simply what the characters are discussing. Even though many readers may never have to encounter what the characters must overcome, they can still find certain qualities in them that relate to those characters through the series of events. The story’s themes and events cover love, marriage, and business, which are dealt with adults more than children. This is also somewhat of a love story; it's like the typical “boy meets girl” fairy tale, but all grown up. In this novel, the main character goes through her love life, as she searches for a decent partnership and a stable relationship. She learns from past loves, finds her inner peace and, in a sense, lives happily ever after with her last Prince Charming.
Summary: Janie Crawford is a particularly well-off African American woman, attractive and confident. As a child, she was raised by her grandmother, growing up with and around white people—she wasn't even aware that she was colored for most of her childhood. As her grandmother tries to play a lead role in Janie’s life, Janie discovers the need for independence. Her adventures take her around Florida with each of her new husbands, discovering the imperfections in herself and her lovers, and blossoming into a real woman along the way. By the time she meets the young and lively Tea Cake, she has found her inner strength and someone she truly loves. He respects her as a woman (and a human) more than either of her past husbands, and he urges her to bloom into the gorgeous flower she dreams of. Janie’s seemingly perfect life does not necessarily come to a lovely end, but it tells a very sweet story.
Characters: Janie Crawford is the protagonist of the story, an intelligent woman, and a seeker of love. She was raised by her grandmother, as her parents were gone early in her childhood. She lived in a white neighborhood, where Nanny Crawford worked, and grew up with white children. Janie is very much endowed with the gift of good looks; “The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume; then her pugnacious breasts trying to bore holes in her shirt" (2). She “sees her life like a great tree in lead with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone" (8). That tree symbolizes Janie’s desire for a perfect life, where everything goes the way it should (including the perfect lover). She dreams to be a mature and independent woman. However, her grandmother decides to marry her to Logan Killicks, a rich man whom Janie never truly loved; “She knew that marriage did not make love. Her first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (24). Janie then leaves Logan for Jody Starks, and travels with him to a small Florida town, becoming the mayor's wife. She ventures through the map of her life, and with a few detours, she finally meets Tea Cake, the soul mate she'd been looking for. Joe “Jody” Starks is Janie’s second husband for twenty years, the mayor of Eatonville (a developing town in Florida), and the owner of the local shop alongside his wife. His position of mayor fits his hunger for power and control, one of the main causes for the deterioration of their marriage. He doesn't treat Janie as a human, insulting her for pleasure. “He didn't really hate Janie, but he wanted her to think so" (77); though it appears that he finds no love for Janie, it is simply who he is—cold-hearted and selfish. His greed for supremacy precludes Janie from becoming an adult, keeping her a little girl forever. Over the years, he develops a sickness, drastically altering his appearance, “baggy all over, like bags hanging from an ironing board" (77). His condition worsens, yet he refuses to be checked by a doctor; Janie tries to take care of him, but he defiantly declines. However, she remains calm, patiently waiting out Jody’s death, and tells him “Now you got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo’self if you wants any love and any sympathy in dis world" (82). With that, Jody’s anger comes to an end—for good. His death brings a sense of freedom to Janie: freedom from the troubles during his life. Janie’s third and last husband is Tea Cake, "son of the Evening Sun" (180). He is a spirited, youthful man twelve years younger than Janie, and the definition of “third time’s the charm”. They meet shortly after Jody’s death at the near empty local store; “she knew she didn't know his name, but he looked familiar" (90). He quickly takes notice of her strong sense of independence, following her liberation from the troubles of Jody. Not only does he teach her how to shoot a gun ad play checkers, but Tea Cake also encourages Janie to follow her path to independence and happiness. However, “Janie learned what it felt like to be jealous" (130) during her third marriage, as Tea Cake attracts women just as much as Janie would men. However, their short-lived wrestling matches do not reveal any signs of loving each other any less; “they wrestled on until they were doped with their own fumes and emanations...he kissed her and they fell asleep in sweet exhaustion" (132). He and Janie remain inseparable from each other for the rest of their lives, staying with each other through town-hops and hurricanes. In the end, Tea Cake plays the greatest role in Janie’s quest for the happy medium of love and freedom.
Themes: The main themes of Their Eyes Were Watching God are following your heart, making the right decisions, and becoming independent. From the start, Janie is determined to find her other half and achieve what she really wants. Her heart’s instructions are diverted by Nanny Crawford’s decision to arrange Janie’s first marriage with someone she didn't even like. This initiates her desires to grow independent and make her own choices in life. Her heart, at first, does not guide her in the right direction—somehow leading her to the anguish with Jody. However, she is not discouraged, and remains on that path which leads to Tea Cake. Her choice in having faith in Jody may have only been stimulated by her lack of love with Logan, but as grave a mistake as it was, it did help her in the long run. Her suffering with him allows her to toughen up and stand up for herself at Jody’s death bed. She finds her liberty and unchains her life from the imprisonment of her own heart. Of all other things in this book, the need for independence may be the important idea in the entirety of the story. That independence gives her a chance to live a free and happy life with Tea Cake: not having to rely on others to decide her future. Janie’s newly discovered fortitude gives her a new perspective on the world. In the beginning, her only plans were to get to where she thinks she should be, living a perfect life and perfect love. She finally arrives at that destination, and those dreams are fulfilled along with an improved version of Janie.
Conflicts: Janie’s main issue in this story is her love life, and her intermediate lovers through the process. In the beginning, her plans are ruined by her impatient grandmother, who married her to someone Janie was completely reluctant to be with. She struggles with her first two husbands, as she figures that neither will be able to guide her to what she dreams of: independence. The most of her problems come from the cold-heart, power-hungry Jody. As already told, Jody is not the most respectful of people, which poses a great obstacle for Janie to cross. They fight for the duration of their marriage, and “the years took all the fight out of Janie’s face…she thought it was gone from her soul" (72). He tries to prove to everyone that he has total control of his and Janie’s life. However, she lives on and fights on, and manages to overcome that hurdle in her life. Another factoring conflict in the story involves Janie’s good friend Pheoby Watson in Eatonville. During the time between Jody’s funeral and Tea Cake’s emergence, Pheoby is very skeptical about Janie going around with Tea Cake. Her equally disbelieving husband Sam believes “Tea Cake can’t do nothin’ but help her spend what she got…dat’s whut he’s after" (106). The community as a whole feels that Tea Cake isn't good enough for Janie to marry, and Janie is very aware of that. However, she maintains her faith in Tea Cake, “he (Tea Cake) ain't no stranger tuh me…we’se just as good as married already (109)".
New Words: 1. Discomfiture: (n.) confusion; embarrassment “A big burst of laughter at Daisy’s discomfiture. The boys had to act out their rivalry too" (64). 2. Rollick: (v.) to act joyfully and playfully “She sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking the springtime across the world" (84). 3. Meriny: (adj.) light-colored, probably tan, complexion (word created by author) “One big meriny colored woman was so ugly till it was worth five dollars for her not to come in, so he gave it to her" (117). 4. Flivver: (n.) a cheap vehicle “Permanent transients with no attachments and tired looking men with their families and dogs in flivvers" (125). 5. Homage: (n.) respect; acknowledgement “She paid homage to Janie’s Caucasian characteristics as such" (139).
Symbol:
The story primarily revolves around Janie and her dreams, which is symbolized by a pear tree. She sees a near perfect life in that pear tree: “things suffered and enjoyed, done and undone" (8). Bees buzzing around with love, and flowers blooming to life. The tree also stands for Janie’s place in nature and in the world—as a person, as a woman. Janie searches and searches for true love, seemingly perfect material for a Disney princess movie. However, she can’t manage to reach the ripened pear of independence (and all that she desires) that mocks her from above. Her adventures through love are like small steps up the tree, conquering those things suffered and undone. When she finally harvests the fruit of her labor, her dreams in the pear tree become a reality.
Similar Works: As unique a story as Their Eyes Were Watching God is, there are many works throughout time that share some similarities with it. This book immediately makes me think of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, primarily because they are both famed African-American stories, but both also discuss the importance of family and relationships. The mother (Ruth Younger) is very similar Janie, both wanting a good relationship with their husbands. The father (Walter Younger) is like Jody and Tea Cake together. Walter was very selfish and stubborn like Jody, but did also love his wife like Tea Cake; . In both plots, the characters find themselves in problematic dilemmas, over different subjects: the play over money, the novel over love. The two stories are timeless classics about the struggles of African-Americans in the earlier decades. The book is also quite similar to the TV comedy series How I Met Your Mother. Despite noticeable differences in the settings, both stories describe a very elongated love story with relatively similar characters. In the novel, the main character falls in love with three considerably different men, while the TV protagonist (Ted Mosby) goes through countless relationships before eventually getting married to “the mother”. The amorous main characters both persistently commit themselves to one person who they believe is “the one”, nearly at first sight. Janie’s ideal partner is one who could help shape her into her dream “form”, where Ted’s is one who will be the perfect mother of his future children. The two are very ambitious, determined and, of course, fall in love quite easily.
What would have been in the video commentary: The Catcher in the Rye is a 1940s classic about teenage rebellion and the difficulties of growing up. Sure, it's not the most action-packed book on the shelves, but it is a really enjoyable read. The content is so realistic and emotional; however, you have to read it really carefully, as there are several small details within the chapters. Overall, it is definitely worth trying and reading.
Tony Chen
QUARTER ONE:Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
“Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about living fuh theyselves" (183).
Why I Chose It:
I chose this book partly because I had it on my bookshelf, but also because I knew that it was a very famous and well-written book. I had heard of it many times through the years, although I didn't quite know what it was about, or why it was such a good book; I was eager to find the answers. GoodReads ended up being the best resource for this question, as the majority of the reviews were extremely positive, save a few negative thoughts. Still curious about the book, I asked my knowledgeable and experienced sister whether or not it was worthy of reading just for fun, and she confidently recommended it to me. Thus, with all of the motivation to read the novel, I embarked on a journey to see for myself, and it definitely didn't disappoint.
Genre:
The book is an African-American story, and a pure classic at that. A very thick slang dialect makes up the distinctive dialogue of the story, and only the narrator speaks in "plain” English. This choice of language brings out the nature of the characters, making the story seem that much more realistic, though the reader may not necessarily understand every word. This book is definitely a young adult or adult fiction novel because the events that occur on in the story are better suited for more mature readers. Little kids would clearly be completely unable to decipher any of the unique speech of the character, and would not have any idea about what is happening—the time period or simply what the characters are discussing. Even though many readers may never have to encounter what the characters must overcome, they can still find certain qualities in them that relate to those characters through the series of events. The story’s themes and events cover love, marriage, and business, which are dealt with adults more than children. This is also somewhat of a love story; it's like the typical “boy meets girl” fairy tale, but all grown up. In this novel, the main character goes through her love life, as she searches for a decent partnership and a stable relationship. She learns from past loves, finds her inner peace and, in a sense, lives happily ever after with her last Prince Charming.
Summary:
Janie Crawford is a particularly well-off African American woman, attractive and confident. As a child, she was raised by her grandmother, growing up with and around white people—she wasn't even aware that she was colored for most of her childhood. As her grandmother tries to play a lead role in Janie’s life, Janie discovers the need for independence. Her adventures take her around Florida with each of her new husbands, discovering the imperfections in herself and her lovers, and blossoming into a real woman along the way. By the time she meets the young and lively Tea Cake, she has found her inner strength and someone she truly loves. He respects her as a woman (and a human) more than either of her past husbands, and he urges her to bloom into the gorgeous flower she dreams of. Janie’s seemingly perfect life does not necessarily come to a lovely end, but it tells a very sweet story.
Characters:
Janie Crawford is the protagonist of the story, an intelligent woman, and a seeker of love. She was raised by her grandmother, as her parents were gone early in her childhood. She lived in a white neighborhood, where Nanny Crawford worked, and grew up with white children. Janie is very much endowed with the gift of good looks; “The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume; then her pugnacious breasts trying to bore holes in her shirt" (2). She “sees her life like a great tree in lead with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone" (8). That tree symbolizes Janie’s desire for a perfect life, where everything goes the way it should (including the perfect lover). She dreams to be a mature and independent woman. However, her grandmother decides to marry her to Logan Killicks, a rich man whom Janie never truly loved; “She knew that marriage did not make love. Her first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (24). Janie then leaves Logan for Jody Starks, and travels with him to a small Florida town, becoming the mayor's wife. She ventures through the map of her life, and with a few detours, she finally meets Tea Cake, the soul mate she'd been looking for.
Joe “Jody” Starks is Janie’s second husband for twenty years, the mayor of Eatonville (a developing town in Florida), and the owner of the local shop alongside his wife. His position of mayor fits his hunger for power and control, one of the main causes for the deterioration of their marriage. He doesn't treat Janie as a human, insulting her for pleasure. “He didn't really hate Janie, but he wanted her to think so" (77); though it appears that he finds no love for Janie, it is simply who he is—cold-hearted and selfish. His greed for supremacy precludes Janie from becoming an adult, keeping her a little girl forever. Over the years, he develops a sickness, drastically altering his appearance, “baggy all over, like bags hanging from an ironing board" (77). His condition worsens, yet he refuses to be checked by a doctor; Janie tries to take care of him, but he defiantly declines. However, she remains calm, patiently waiting out Jody’s death, and tells him “Now you got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo’self if you wants any love and any sympathy in dis world" (82). With that, Jody’s anger comes to an end—for good. His death brings a sense of freedom to Janie: freedom from the troubles during his life.
Janie’s third and last husband is Tea Cake, "son of the Evening Sun" (180). He is a spirited, youthful man twelve years younger than Janie, and the definition of “third time’s the charm”. They meet shortly after Jody’s death at the near empty local store; “she knew she didn't know his name, but he looked familiar" (90). He quickly takes notice of her strong sense of independence, following her liberation from the troubles of Jody. Not only does he teach her how to shoot a gun ad play checkers, but Tea Cake also encourages Janie to follow her path to independence and happiness. However, “Janie learned what it felt like to be jealous" (130) during her third marriage, as Tea Cake attracts women just as much as Janie would men. However, their short-lived wrestling matches do not reveal any signs of loving each other any less; “they wrestled on until they were doped with their own fumes and emanations...he kissed her and they fell asleep in sweet exhaustion" (132). He and Janie remain inseparable from each other for the rest of their lives, staying with each other through town-hops and hurricanes. In the end, Tea Cake plays the greatest role in Janie’s quest for the happy medium of love and freedom.
Themes:
The main themes of Their Eyes Were Watching God are following your heart, making the right decisions, and becoming independent. From the start, Janie is determined to find her other half and achieve what she really wants. Her heart’s instructions are diverted by Nanny Crawford’s decision to arrange Janie’s first marriage with someone she didn't even like. This initiates her desires to grow independent and make her own choices in life. Her heart, at first, does not guide her in the right direction—somehow leading her to the anguish with Jody. However, she is not discouraged, and remains on that path which leads to Tea Cake. Her choice in having faith in Jody may have only been stimulated by her lack of love with Logan, but as grave a mistake as it was, it did help her in the long run. Her suffering with him allows her to toughen up and stand up for herself at Jody’s death bed. She finds her liberty and unchains her life from the imprisonment of her own heart. Of all other things in this book, the need for independence may be the important idea in the entirety of the story. That independence gives her a chance to live a free and happy life with Tea Cake: not having to rely on others to decide her future. Janie’s newly discovered fortitude gives her a new perspective on the world. In the beginning, her only plans were to get to where she thinks she should be, living a perfect life and perfect love. She finally arrives at that destination, and those dreams are fulfilled along with an improved version of Janie.
Conflicts:
Janie’s main issue in this story is her love life, and her intermediate lovers through the process. In the beginning, her plans are ruined by her impatient grandmother, who married her to someone Janie was completely reluctant to be with. She struggles with her first two husbands, as she figures that neither will be able to guide her to what she dreams of: independence. The most of her problems come from the cold-heart, power-hungry Jody. As already told, Jody is not the most respectful of people, which poses a great obstacle for Janie to cross. They fight for the duration of their marriage, and “the years took all the fight out of Janie’s face…she thought it was gone from her soul" (72). He tries to prove to everyone that he has total control of his and Janie’s life. However, she lives on and fights on, and manages to overcome that hurdle in her life. Another factoring conflict in the story involves Janie’s good friend Pheoby Watson in Eatonville. During the time between Jody’s funeral and Tea Cake’s emergence, Pheoby is very skeptical about Janie going around with Tea Cake. Her equally disbelieving husband Sam believes “Tea Cake can’t do nothin’ but help her spend what she got…dat’s whut he’s after" (106). The community as a whole feels that Tea Cake isn't good enough for Janie to marry, and Janie is very aware of that. However, she maintains her faith in Tea Cake, “he (Tea Cake) ain't no stranger tuh me…we’se just as good as married already (109)".
New Words:
1. Discomfiture: (n.) confusion; embarrassment
“A big burst of laughter at Daisy’s discomfiture. The boys had to act out their rivalry too" (64).
2. Rollick: (v.) to act joyfully and playfully
“She sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking the springtime across the world" (84).
3. Meriny: (adj.) light-colored, probably tan, complexion (word created by author)
“One big meriny colored woman was so ugly till it was worth five dollars for her not to come in, so he gave it to her" (117).
4. Flivver: (n.) a cheap vehicle
“Permanent transients with no attachments and tired looking men with their families and dogs in flivvers" (125).
5. Homage: (n.) respect; acknowledgement
“She paid homage to Janie’s Caucasian characteristics as such" (139).
Symbol:
The story primarily revolves around Janie and her dreams, which is symbolized by a pear tree. She sees a near perfect life in that pear tree: “things suffered and enjoyed, done and undone" (8). Bees buzzing around with love, and flowers blooming to life. The tree also stands for Janie’s place in nature and in the world—as a person, as a woman. Janie searches and searches for true love, seemingly perfect material for a Disney princess movie. However, she can’t manage to reach the ripened pear of independence (and all that she desires) that mocks her from above. Her adventures through love are like small steps up the tree, conquering those things suffered and undone. When she finally harvests the fruit of her labor, her dreams in the pear tree become a reality.
Similar Works:
As unique a story as Their Eyes Were Watching God is, there are many works throughout time that share some similarities with it. This book immediately makes me think of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, primarily because they are both famed African-American stories, but both also discuss the importance of family and relationships. The mother (Ruth Younger) is very similar Janie, both wanting a good relationship with their husbands. The father (Walter Younger) is like Jody and Tea Cake together. Walter was very selfish and stubborn like Jody, but did also love his wife like Tea Cake; . In both plots, the characters find themselves in problematic dilemmas, over different subjects: the play over money, the novel over love. The two stories are timeless classics about the struggles of African-Americans in the earlier decades. The book is also quite similar to the TV comedy series How I Met Your Mother. Despite noticeable differences in the settings, both stories describe a very elongated love story with relatively similar characters. In the novel, the main character falls in love with three considerably different men, while the TV protagonist (Ted Mosby) goes through countless relationships before eventually getting married to “the mother”. The amorous main characters both persistently commit themselves to one person who they believe is “the one”, nearly at first sight. Janie’s ideal partner is one who could help shape her into her dream “form”, where Ted’s is one who will be the perfect mother of his future children. The two are very ambitious, determined and, of course, fall in love quite easily.
GoodReads Review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/428154331
QUARTER TWO:
What would have been in the video commentary:
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1940s classic about teenage rebellion and the difficulties of growing up. Sure, it's not the most action-packed book on the shelves, but it is a really enjoyable read. The content is so realistic and emotional; however, you have to read it really carefully, as there are several small details within the chapters. Overall, it is definitely worth trying and reading.